APPEAL TAKES FOREVER

[originalbrilliantine]

Sellling - Link as So-called Policy Violation 

Ebay took my listing down within two minutes of my listing it (on Sunday) because I had included a link to the manufacturer of a vintage item, which Ebay marks as a violation because ALL links are viewed as an attempt to draw sales away from Ebay.  This was not a commercial or private link.  Just 'if you want more info on this renowned manufacturer, if you want to know if this is really a good product, here's a link.'  And since the item is vintage, and no longer in production, there's no way the sale could have gone to the manufacturer.  

So in fact, by taking down the listing, Ebay itself drew this sale away from Ebay.

I called the next day (Monday) to dispute.  The advisor I spoke to said he had recently worked on a dispute where a Lego seller was allowed to include an informational Lego link after appealing, so I decided to appeal too.  I was told the appeal would take 48 hours (Wednesday).  When I got no response after 48 hours, I called back, and was told they would put a 24 hour priority on it (Thursday).  Now, another 48 hours later (Friday), with no response, I called again.  This time I was told they do not have enough staff on appeals, and it would take another 48 hours (Saturday - so not 2 days, but 6 days - at least).  So I asked to withdraw the appeal, but I was told that's not possible.  My two options are: 1) wait for the appeal process to complete, or 2) recreate the listing from scratch.

Every time I call Ebay with a question, one of the first things the agent says is (something like) "I see you've been a customer for 25 years.  Thank you very much for your loyalty."

Is this any way to treat a customer with a 100% rating over 25 years?!

NO, particularly when I see how much in fees Ebay extracts from each sale.  VERY - no EXCEEDINGLY - disappointed.  Calling about this issue has probably taken - so far - a good two hours out of my life, and it's not over yet.  Something has to change.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Rules are black and white and not in shades of grey.

Rules are enforced by automated methods.

Few in support have the ability to overrule the bots.

Experienced sellers know the rules and that any nuance is absent, so they avoid any actions which a bot will find infringing.

You have been with Ebay a long time, but have not sold very much and may still have more to learn.

It is always a good idea to keep your head down, and not to expect any  exemptions or exceptions. And unless it is a matter of life and death, to avoid contacting support.

[albertabrightalberta]

The rules are clear -- no outside links even if there's no attempt or possibility of an off-site sale. 

Instead of wasting your time trying to appeal a case for which there is no appeal, just relist the item without any links. 

Good pictures and descriptions are what will help you sell your items, not links to manufacturers' websites. 

[albertabrightalberta]

@originalbrilliantine 

You may not want to hear unsolicited advice and if not, you're welcome to ignore this but it may help others: 

1. You have a listing for some purple shoes which you describe as having straps with a velcro closure. If you aren't absolutely 100% sure that the brand of hook and loop closure is velcro, you might want to remove that brand name. Velcro is notorious for filing VeRO takedown requests for use of their brand name when something isn't actually velcro brand. 

2. In another listing for the tube sweater, you use unrelated brand names in your title and listing, explaining that "I mention Kaffe Fassett and Bill Gibb in the title because they are master knit designers, and I thought knitting fans would want to see another example of extraordinary knitting." It's considered to be keyword spamming to manipulate searches and isn't allowed. 

[fashunu4eeuh]

Calling eBay on this issue is a waste of your time. The reps will tell you the expedient thing to placate you so they can get on to the next caller. They have little to no authority to change policy or make exceptions and you are basing this “appeal” on the word of someone who may have told you what you wanted to hear instead of what you needed to know.

[dcrtechandelec]

This. Is. Not. Your. Website. I could list at least 10 valid reasons why embedding links into your listings is bad practice. First, and foremost; it could imply an affiliation with the brand that you do not truly have. You are not making citations for an article, you are linking within the context of a profit seeking motive. This is a practice where you are just begging to get sued. 

Lastly: Encouraging potential buyers to click links they are unfamiliar with is at best, irresponsible. You may not realize this but you could actually cause harm to users, were you to copy and paste a URL from your machine that includes a malicious redirect embedded into the URL. Are you aware that portions of a URL often contain web trackers that can follow you site-to-site? They are user-specific and if not omitted from the link, the page wouldn't even be able to resolve for anyone who clicked on it. Would you use best practices like ensuring the user gets taken to a domain-validated page, and does so with an encrypted connection to that server? 

Doing these things in a secure manner will require more technical skills than you realize. You are complaining about eBay, when they are no doubt doing you a favor by preventing you from your poor decisions...

[kensgiftshop]

Sorry, but policy says no off site links, doesn't matter what site it goes to.

[onlinecentral]

I have successfully used a workaround for several years with this line in my description. "Features a Hook and Loop fastener. Compare this to Velcro". Hook and Loop is the generic term and I am educating the buyer that while it works like Velcro, it is not authentic, trademarked Velcro.

Another workaround is this line in my description. "A web search may yield an installation video."